One Piece Gunslinger

Chapter Eight: The Second Fire

“That problem is now solved. The rest will just require some effort, which you can handle.” Li Ang took a sip of water and continued, “Next, I have some objections regarding our route.”

Wow, this almost caused another huge uproar. We just finished one thing, and now they're questioning the next route. Keep in mind, this isn't like before; this route was personally decided by Dragon himself some time ago.

Within the revolutionary army, Long's prestige is unparalleled. Compare that to Li Ang, who gets criticized for every few words he utters. Now, standing side-by-side, it's clear that Long is far superior to Li Ang.

However, Long was quite magnanimous and used his hand to suppress the dissatisfaction of the others: "Now that we have recruited a new chief of staff, we should of course listen to the chief of staff's opinion on these important decisions. Besides, it is just my plan, and it is not uncommon for plans to be modified."

Li Ang didn't mince words. Damn it, there's no room for politeness when you're with these people. "Then I'll be blunt."

Li Ang said, "First, we should gather our forces and, putting aside other places for the time being, take control of this island near our base."

Leon pointed to a small island near Baltimore on the map.

"This island is located on the Grand Line, and its military strength is not like that of the small countries we've dealt with before. Dealing with countries on the Grand Line is a bit difficult for us."

This time it wasn't just anyone, but Dragon himself who said it.

"Moreover, according to our investigation, everyone in this country lives in peace and contentment, and there has been no negative news. How can we attack such a country?"

Li Ang, however, remained unconcerned, saying, "Oh? Is that so? But I don't care about that. I only care that this place is adjacent to our base—Bartigo. If the pirates use the Log Pose, they might discover this place and cause incalculable consequences. Moreover, there's another reason: this place is rich in resources, has a developed economy, and is a hub for all kinds of resources. Taking this place will be beneficial to many of our upcoming operations."

Who knows if Li Ang's arrival will affect the course of events? Li Ang has to be careful about this. After Blackbeard's crew discovered Baltigo, the Revolutionary Army headquarters was reduced to ruins.

Li Ang did not want this incident to happen again; if word got out, it would be a huge blow to the revolutionary army.

The others couldn't sit still any longer and angrily said, "How can this be? Wouldn't that make us just like pirates? I absolutely disagree!"

Li Ang knew what would happen and understood that his proposal would definitely be met with strong opposition. But there was nothing he could do. As Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, once said, "How can one allow others to sleep soundly beside one's bed?"

It's like a time bomb that could explode at any moment. If you leave it alone, it will explode one day and hit you in the face. Then it will be too late to regret it.

“Sigh.” Li Ang sighed. “I know many people oppose this decision, but allow me to ask a question.”

Upon hearing this, Long's lips twitched slightly. Damn it, this new chief of staff is good in every way. He has one strange quirk: he likes to ask questions all the time. But actually, these questions aren't the point; they're partly enticement, partly self-answering.

Recalling the moment I met Li Ang in Fengfeng Village, it all started with the question of whether he was an enemy or a friend. Every so-called "question" was full of hidden meaning. He could have simply reasoned with me, but instead, he chose to reveal the truth little by little through questioning. And with each question, he would unleash philosophical and wise sayings.

However, Long had to admit that these questions did indeed play a significant role. Without the "asking the hero" segment, and instead a direct, flattering approach followed by an expression of interest in joining the Revolutionary Army, even if he were accepted, he might simply be treated as an unknown soldier and thrown into boot camp. Instead, he dominated the meeting and set the pace for the proceedings.

These "Li Ang-style" questions are indeed much better than directly explaining the reasons. They give the illusion that these reasons were come from the author's own thoughts and insights, and that Li Ang was merely offering a few pointers. Because of this illusion, it's easy to believe them.

"First of all, whose revolution are we, the so-called revolutionary army, trying to overthrow, or what is our ultimate goal?"

"Of course, it's about overthrowing the Celestial Dragons, dismantling the World Government, and establishing an equal and free world." The people below answered the question almost without thinking.

“Very good, it seems you still remember this point well,” Li Ang smiled. “Now, let’s move on to the second question…”

"What the hell is the second question? Didn't we just say we were going to ask one question? How did a second question appear?" This thought involuntarily arose in everyone's mind.

However, Li Ang ignored all of this, paying no heed to the questions, and continued, “Now you are driving a speeding train, and the braking system is damaged, making it difficult to stop. Ahead, the tracks split into two. One path leads to a bottomless abyss, where you and hundreds of passengers behind you will plunge. The other path is safe for the people on the train, but criminals have tied several hostages to the tracks; if you drive past them, they will be beheaded. Now you have the right to choose which path to take. What will you choose?”

Sure enough, Li Ang immediately pulled out a classic question to examine the minds of these people.

This question was undoubtedly a bombshell dropped on the crowd.

"If it were me, I would choose to run over the hostage."

"Aren't the lives of hostages lives too? How could you make such a rash decision?"

"Then what should we do? We can't just take everyone in the car into an abyss."

"Oh, you're right. What should we do then?"

From a utilitarian perspective, this is a simple matter of choosing the lesser of two evils. The choice should be made without hesitation: sacrifice one hostage to save the passengers on the train.

However, when it comes to human nature, this is a very difficult question.

Just like the problem the revolutionary army is facing now, according to the idea of ​​"choosing the lesser of two evils," they should capture this small island to eliminate future troubles. However, this contradicts the "justice" that everyone upholds.

Just as everyone was struggling with the decision, Long spoke up: "Alright, that's absolutely unacceptable. We are a revolutionary army, not pirates who pursue profit. As for security, we can just increase our reconnaissance efforts."

Seeing this, Li Ang not only stopped trying to persuade him, but also praised him, saying, "I'm glad you made such a choice. An organization with a bottom line and principles can definitely go further. If it crosses that line, then the Revolutionary Army will be dead in name only, and what will be left is just a pirate crew with the name of the Revolutionary Army."

"Hahaha, I didn't expect this, I really didn't expect this." Long immediately understood everything: "I didn't expect that we would be suspicious of the new chief of staff, and the chief of staff would also be reserved towards us. If we cross the line this time, we'll probably find an opportunity to leave in a couple of days."

“Yes, I will leave very disappointed.” Li Ang said without any hesitation, staring at Long with a smile.

"I'm really sorry, it seems we made a serious mistake. Let me make amends for this."

As he spoke, Long extended his right hand: "Let's do it all over again and get to know each other again. My name is Monkey D. Long, a revolutionary, and I formally invite you to be our chief of staff."

Li Ang smiled and extended his right hand, shaking hands firmly with Long: "I am Li Ang, and I am happy to do my part to overthrow the World Government and defeat the evil Celestial Dragons."

At this point, the rift between Li Ang and the revolutionary army finally dissipated.

Chapter Nine: Taking Chestnuts from the Fire

Okay, first of all, it's not the third fire.

Li Ang wanted to strike while the iron was hot and get the third fire done.

However, the routine has been exhausted, and the so-called third move still requires personal intervention on the battlefield.

So the following meeting proceeded smoothly, and in the end, it was decided to proceed according to the plan formulated by Long.

Although Li Ang knows the entire plot of One Piece, the plot hasn't even started yet. The only information he can use is scattered fragments from the original work, which are currently of little use.

Therefore, even if Li Ang were Zhuge Liang reincarnated, he couldn't make better plans without any information. After all, there was too little information, and besides, Li Ang wasn't exactly exceptionally intelligent; he was merely borrowing the wisdom of five thousand years of history from another world.

However, this has created new problems. After Li Ang's outburst, the revolutionary army has begun to pay more attention to secrecy and intelligence gathering. Even though things are only just beginning to improve, security issues should be put on the agenda.

Since Dragon has decided to assign more people to conduct intelligence work on the nearby islands and in the surrounding waters, we know that an organization can only assign a limited number of people; if more are assigned to one area, fewer will be assigned to another.

and so……

"So, damn it, that's why this team only has 1,500 men?" a burly but meticulous intelligence agent roared at Li Ang.

"Ahem, Lehman, don't get agitated. Increasing security is unavoidable. You have to understand the shortage of manpower at our headquarters, besides..." Li Ang explained helplessly to the burly man in front of him.

"I don't want to hear your reasons! How can I stay calm? I clearly stated in the Den Den Mushi that there are more than 3,000 guards stationed in this Ishigaki Province, and you have only brought a mere 1,500 people, more than 200 of whom are not combatants, to confront them. Isn't this like throwing an egg against a rock?"

However, the man named Lehman in front of him didn't seem to want to listen to Li Ang's explanation and remained furious.

If Li Anghan hadn't recovered, he probably would have argued with Lehman too.

"Alright, Mr. Lehman, the Chief of Staff has already explained everything. It's no wonder the Chief of Staff is upset." Seeing the situation getting out of control, a young man behind Lehman quickly stepped forward to pull him back.

Seeing this, Li Ang couldn't help but think to himself, how could a skinny young man hold back a burly old man?

“Ah, I understand, Louis, but…” Lehman also calmed down and sighed, “I’m sorry, Chief of Staff, I just can’t help feeling resentful when I think about how the people of these British are still living in dire straits.”

Li Ang was speechless. Couldn't they just let people finish speaking?

He stepped forward and patted Lehman on the shoulder: "Don't worry, since we dared to come, we must have something to rely on. The outcome is still uncertain."

Alas, there's nothing we can do; this is how it's done according to the dragon's plan.

Dragon originally planned to split his forces into two groups: one led by Dragon himself to Sand Point Kingdom, and the other led by Ivankov and Lightning to Stone Kingdom.

Each side will send 2,500 men. Although this is still a numerical disadvantage, a powerful general can take on a hundred or even a thousand men. Both sides should be a sure thing.

However, things have changed. First, Ivankov and Lightning went to the Land of the Okama, and Kuma couldn't join the Revolutionary Army because he was planning to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea. As a result, the team is now led by the newly appointed Chief of Staff, Leon.

Secondly, nearly a thousand people were dispatched to increase intelligence and patrol work, as well as to help with infrastructure development on underdeveloped and impoverished islands, resulting in a sharp reduction in troop strength.

Okay, even if a thousand men went, the two armies could still divide the remaining four thousand men equally, instead of Li Ang leading only fifteen hundred men as he is now.

However, Li Ang has developed a disease where he feels he will die if he doesn't show off, and he has developed a bad habit of feeling uncomfortable if he doesn't court death.

Before setting off, Xiang Long suggested transferring 500 of his men to Long's unit, ensuring Long still had 2,500 men available. This was to prevent Long from abandoning his command post and personally joining the battle if his forces became insufficient.

If Long were to personally join the battlefield, he could probably dominate the battlefield in the Sand Point and rack up a thousand kills without any problem.

But this exposes Dragon's identity and also shows that there are highly skilled fighters in the revolutionary army.

This clearly doesn't fit Li Ang's strategy of quietly courting disaster, or rather, quietly making a fortune. He should sneak into the village without firing a shot.

If the butterfly effect caused by Li Ang inadvertently attracts the attention of governments and society around the world ahead of time, then Li Ang will really have nowhere to turn for help.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, even if Long's command is superb and his military capabilities are outstanding, there is no guarantee that things will go smoothly if there are 500 fewer people than originally planned.

If it weren't for Long and the others' strong opposition, Li Ang might have given all three thousand men to Long, keeping only one thousand for himself, and then pulled off a few amazing maneuvers.

In any case, Li Ang's thinking was that everything revolved around the dragon, and everything was centered around the dragon. It didn't matter if he failed on his own side; as long as he was alive, he could always make a comeback. But if the dragon side was destroyed, then it was truly all over.

This isn't Li Ang, a transmigrator knowledgeable in both astronomy and the plot, belittling himself here. So what if he's a transmigrator? So what if he has a system?

He hasn't grown up yet, and his strength is weak. Only Dragon can take him seriously. If he hadn't joined the Revolutionary Army, but instead went to the Navy or became a pirate, he would be just an unknown nobody.

Therefore, Li Ang had to admit that, for now, protecting Long and the Revolutionary Army was the priority. Saving the world could wait; that would be when he achieved great success and could do whatever he wanted.

The saying "build high walls, store up plenty of grain, and delay declaring yourself king" illustrates this principle. First, quietly develop and strengthen your power before emerging to unify the world.

However, Li Ang did not only bring 1,500 soldiers with him, but also two assistants.

The first one is the fishman Haku. I must say, even if he can't take on a thousand men, or even a hundred, it would be difficult for him to fight against a hundred men, but taking on ten men is no problem, it's a piece of cake.

Even in the original manga, where he suffers numerous defeats and is generally considered mediocre, that's only because his opponents are too strong. Haku is also a Fish-Man Karate Master and a military instructor within the Revolutionary Army. He's privately nicknamed "Little Lin Chong" by Li Ang, the instructor of the 5,000 Imperial Guards, and the Fish-Man Head Haku.

The main role of the fishman Haku is actually Leon's personal bodyguard. In battle, he can also be deployed as a spearhead to pierce through the enemy's formation.

Hehehe, and the other person is the little girl Kella.

Of course, it's not because Li Ang has any strange ideas; those who think otherwise should go stand in the corner and reflect on their actions.

It's not that Kelra grew up to be exceptionally intelligent, reliable, and capable; even as a child, she displayed admirable qualities such as diligence, simplicity, quick wit, and a thirst for knowledge.

This gave Leon a moment to think. Following his original trajectory, Kella was already quite resourceful. If it weren't for Sabon's personal instruction and the protagonist's halo, shouldn't Kella have been the chief of staff? Clearly, Kella was far more suitable for the position.

However, given their relationship, it doesn't really matter who becomes the chief of staff.

What if Leon added fuel to the fire during Kela's development, imparting to her the culmination of five thousand years of wisdom from another world? Would the result be far superior to the original Kela?

Li Ang was really looking forward to it, so he kept Kela by his side and began to teach her carefully from Li Ang's first battle.

Incidentally, Sabo saw that Krall was also going to sea and made a fuss, saying that he also wanted to go to sea and that if he didn't take him along, he would secretly go to sea.

Faced with Sabo's straightforwardness, the Revolutionary Army had no choice but to suggest that Dragon take him under his wing so he could teach him training and learning whenever needed. Although Leon felt that it might ultimately just become about training and more training.

So Li Ang set sail with two assistants and 1,500 men, with only enough supplies for a month's expenses.

In other words, if Li Ang can't take down Shiguo in a month, then Li Ang might as well give up and go to sleep.

This mission was time-sensitive, demanding, and challenging for Li Ang.